Apparatus for and method of estimating motion vector

Abstract

An apparatus for and method of estimating a motion vector for a video image block are provided. The apparatus includes an error calculation unit calculating a motion estimation error for a predetermined prediction motion vector of the image block, an information extraction unit extracting geometric information regarding the image block, an update motion vector generation unit generating an update motion vector based on the motion estimation error calculated by the error calculation unit and the geometric information extracted by the information extraction unit, and an addition unit adding the prediction motion vector to the generated update motion vector.

1 . An apparatus for estimating a motion vector for an image block, the apparatus comprising:
 an error calculation unit which calculates a motion estimation error for a predetermined prediction motion vector of the image block;   an information extraction unit which extracts geometric information regarding the image block;   an update motion vector generation unit which generates an update motion vector based on the motion estimation error calculated by the error calculation unit and the geometric information extracted by the information extraction unit; and   an addition unit which adds the predetermined prediction motion vector to the generated update motion vector.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the error calculation unit calculates a Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) for the predetermined prediction motion vector and the update motion vector generation unit generates the update motion vector based on the calculated SAD. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein a size of the update motion vector generated by the update motion vector generation unit is proportional to the calculated SAD. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the geometric information extracted by the information extraction unit includes information about whether the image block is an edge region, a corner region, or a flat region. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the information extraction unit extracts information about a directivity or a size of an edge from the image block, and the update motion vector generation unit generates the update motion vector based on the motion estimation error calculated by the error calculation unit and the directivity or the size of the edge extracted by the information extraction unit. 
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the information extraction unit extracts information about a directivity or a size of an edge from the image block, and the update motion vector generation unit generates the update motion vector based on the SAD calculated by the error calculation unit and the directivity or the size of the edge extracted by the information extraction unit. 
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the directivity or the size of the edge is extracted by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). 
   
   
       8 . A method of estimating a motion vector for an image block, the method comprising:
 calculating a motion estimation error for a predetermined prediction motion vector of the image block;   extracting geometric information regarding the image block;   generating an update motion vector based on the calculated motion estimation error and the extracted geometric information; and   adding the predetermined prediction motion vector to the generated update motion vector.   
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the calculating of the motion estimation error comprises calculating a Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) for the predetermined prediction motion vector and the generating of the update motion vector comprises generating the update motion vector based on the calculated SAD. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein a size of the generated update motion vector is proportional to the calculated SAD. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the extracted geometric information includes information about whether the image block is an edge region, a corner region, or a flat region. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the extracting of the geometric information comprises extracting information about a directivity or a size of an edge from the image block, and the generating of the update motion vector comprises generating the update motion vector based on the calculated motion estimation error and the extracted directivity or the size of the edge. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the extracting of the geometric information comprises extracting information about a directivity or a size of an edge from the image block, and the generating of the update motion vector comprises generating the update motion vector based on the calculated SAD and the extracted directivity or the size of the edge. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the directivity or size of the edge is extracted by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). 
   
   
       15 . A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for implementing a method of estimating a motion vector for an image block, the method comprising:
 calculating a motion estimation error for a predetermined prediction motion vector of the image block;   extracting geometric information regarding the image block;   generating an update motion vector based on the calculated motion estimation error and the extracted geometric information; and   adding the predetermined prediction motion vector to the generated update motion vector.